Paul Moss [Astronomer]

28/10/2024

STAR SIZE.. compared to our sun which is tiny tiny.. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1141958770633727

25/10/2024

there is another comet screaming toward us right now, just going around the sun, and will be here next few days.. might be brighter than most!!

03/07/2024

MY LASER EYE ASSAULT. '32. What should I do if I see someone misusing a high-power laser pointer (eg, shining it at people’s eyes or at an aircraft or another vehicle)?'

'Call the Police and make detailed notes of what is happening including the location, time and a description of the event. Collect any identification details (eg, vehicle registration numbers) and take photos (or video) if you can safely.'

I did that, and nothing happened.. it is now 12 years and no one actually cares... even with the photo! because the shutter was open at the time.. so i withdrew from Astronomers and Astro Societies to prevent more eye and camera damage...

The fascinating outcome of that was that I saw the societies and members for their true selves; emo, self centred wierdo's, squabbling and clamouring for personal ego, putting down anyone that pursued change, such as Astro Art, Astro Music, Astro Culture, Astro Outreach.... they were mean and unrestrained in their ugly behaviours.. Typically old white men, racist and bigoted..

Questions and answers on the new controls on high-power laser pointers.

24/06/2024

BIG STARS!!

Size comparison of Earth, Sun, and 9 biggest known stars to astronomers. All the stars in the video are in the Milky Way. VY Canis Majoris is the largest sta...

20/06/2024

Writing and researching a Matariki talk..
I made a couple of charts to asses visibilty of the stars in Matariki:

I set up Stellarium to emulate what us humans can see in dark sky, i removed all stars below brightness 6.00. remember the brightness scale is inverted. 1 is the reference star SIRIUS. brightness 2 is 1/2.5 that, 3 is 1/2.5 of 2... it is a wierd scale. negative is brighter than Sirius!!! mag 6 is 1/100th of mag 1.

12/06/2024

ASTRONOMY AOTEAROA at Te PAPA

MATARIKI Sidewalk Astronomy // Art of Astronomy at Te Papa Tongarewa - a talk by Astro Artist Paul Moss.http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/WhatsOn/allevents/Pages/Sid...

12/06/2024

MATARIKI TE PAPA 6.30 tmrw, 13th https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/events/matariki-korero-tipu-a-rangi?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2w103SyVanWJ4SzGUFSuHeVM1TwEFaMuM3B36i1nola0m0XuvhEwkfvK0_aem_AZVEN_kQ_nXmCRbZ7tAeLDEJjicj_bbd96LtjYFNTYztlFgznLPT5te5oF3pENoTlBD8hMay5GlkecrhdzFzDate

Throughout June, guest speakers will chair a weekly series of Matariki talks about kai Māoripractices connected to taonga from our collection.

05/06/2024

Matariki

'This year, New Zealand celebrates Matariki on 28 June.

The date of the public holiday varies, as it is based on the nearest Friday to the Tangaroa lunar period during the lunar month of Pipiri.

Matariki is the Māori name for a cluster of stars that can be seen during midwinter. For many Māori, it signals the start of a new year.

Matariki is an abbreviation of ‘Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea (‘The eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea’) and refers to a large cluster of stars, known in some European traditions as the Pleiades.

According to Māori tradition, the god of the wind, Tāwhirimātea, was so angry when his siblings separated their parents, Ranginui the sky father and Papatūānuku the earth mother, that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.' from senior newsletter...

Traditionally, Matariki was a time to acknowledge the dead and to release their spirits to become stars. It was also a time to reflect, to be thankful to the gods for the harvest, to feast and to share the bounty of the harvest with family and friends.

05/06/2024

MATARIKI RISING WITH JUPITER. 6.30 am June 22nd/23rd

05/06/2024

MATARIKI.

June 7th.
this is what it may look like early this month.. the dawn will obscure a lot.. but later it will rise a bit earlier so better.. I am delivering a talk and telescopes/cameras at ORUANUI MARAE on the 22nd.. notice RIGEL is rising more visibly? that is used instead of Pleiades as the Maori new year trigger for western iwi, it is PUANGA...

June 22nd.
so by the 22nd it is all earlier than th e sun, and you may be able to spot Matariki at 10 degrees above th e horizon.. we shall see. (pun intended).. will be a great photo i will have on a screen so everyone can see it live if it is clear.

images from STELLARIUM..

03/06/2024

FAKE INFO gets to astronomy posts!!!

'Krypton is a hypothetical gas giant theorized by Michael Ovenden, who speculated that the planet used to exist between Mars and the asteroid belt.' no business in an astro post about the planetary 'visual line up' .

It isn't even an actual line up and not particularly rare, it just LOOKS that way from our point of view...

So go outside pre-dawn and check it out, it is somewhat beautiful and inspiring, and then Matariki rises with Jupiter beside it!! look through a telescope, binoculars, or bigger than 200mm lense, and see the moons of Jupiter, and heaps of stars in the Pleiades, (more than seven!!)

02/06/2024

Rangataua Scorpio Risng. Antares. G.C. (Galactic centre). East.